What is this Feeling?
by Rising Phoenix1835
Summary: The war is over, and Harry Potter just wants to move on with his life and be a normal teenager. He returns to Hogwarts for his final year hoping for once that it will be a normal year. But when does normal ever describe Harry's life? AUish, HP/DM SLASH
1. What is this Feeling?

A/N: Okay guys here it is my very first fanfic story! It's taken me a really long time to get up the courage to write this. I'm not too fond of long A/N's so don't expect many from me.

I own nothing but the plot for this story. All Harry Potter characters belong to JKR. I'm just borrowing them for my own pleasure. LOL

Chapter 1- **What is this feeling?**

"I can't believe we're actually going back."

Harry looked over at his best friend who was at the moment stuffing the remaining chocolate frogs he had gotten off the trolley into his mouth.

"I…kfrow da eelin mate" Ron managed to get out.

"I'm sorry..what was that Ron?" Hermione asked with a somewhat disgusted look on her face.

"I said..I know the feeling mate. Geez 'Mione I would have thought you could understand my "mouth-ful lingo" after 6 years of friendship." Ron actually looked hurt that Hermione didn't seem to understand everything about him.

Ignoring Ron's pouting, Hermione turned to continue her conversation with Harry. "How are you feeling about going back Harry? I know it's probably going to be pretty difficult with all the attention you're sure to get after defeating Voldemort."

"I know. Right now though I'm just too excited about returning to Hogwarts to get down too much about people bugging me. Six months ago if you had told me that we'd be sitting here on the train heading back to Hogwarts I would have laughed in your face. For once in my life I'll actually be able to have a normal year without looking over my shoulder every five minutes waiting for Tom or some random Death Eater to try and kill me. I can finally just be a normal 7th year with my biggest worry being my NEWT scores.

"Oh Harry! I'm so happy for you." Hermione lunged at the dark haired boy and wrapped him up in a tight embrace.

"Erm..thanks 'Mione…I couldn't have done it without you guys' help." Hemione's random bursts of affection always surprised Harry, and he wasn't exactly sure how to react, so he just awkwardly patted her shoulder. Ron looked on with a range of emotions flickering across his face, going from shock to confusion, to jealousy, to sympathy. Harry couldn't decide which one was more funny.

"So Harry…have you decided what classes you're going to take yet? I know you didn't get the required O in your O.W.L's to take potions but you could try and talk to McGonagall and maybe she could convince Snape to let you take his class." Leave it up to Hermione to ease the tension by getting back on the topic of classes.

"Yeah I was thinking about talking to her, but I'm not even sure if I want to be an auror anymore so whether or not I get into the class isn't really too important."

"WHAT?!?! Whatdoya mean you don't want to be an auror? You've ALWAYS wanted to be an auror mate!" Ron's outburst was to be expected.

"I just don't know whether or not I want to spend the rest of my life fighting the evil that's already claimed most of my life. I just kinda want a break from that lifestyle."

"That's completely understandable Harry. You definitely deserve a break. Doesn't he Ron?" The glare Hermione sent Ron's way begged him to argue.

"Sure mate…completely understandable!" he readily agreed.

"Thanks for understanding guys. It means a lot."

A short time later the trio changed into their school robes as the train pulled into Hogsmeade station. As they descended from the train Harry looked around the small village taking in the view as if for the first time. He found a new appreciation for the place after believing that he would never see it again 6 months ago.

His reminiscing was abruptly broken by Ron pulling on his sleeve. "Come on guys lets go grab a carriage before they're all filled."

The ride up to the castle was fairly uneventful. Everyone was anxious to be reunited after the horrors of the previous year. Upon entering the Great Hall for the welcoming feast Harry was enveloped by greetings and cheers from his fellow Gryffindors. Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas dragged him into a lively debate about the upcoming Quidditch season. Neville was showing off his new Monkshood plant he'd acquired during his vacation in Australia over the summer. Colin Creevey was busy snapping off as many pictures as he could. Overall the usual solmness attitude of the past 6 years was gone and replaced with lighthearted cheerfulness in everyone. Even the Slytherin table seemed more welcoming than usual.

As Harry looked over the hall his gaze landed on the blond headed lanky form of Draco Malfoy. The gray eyed Slytherin gave Harry a barely noticible nod, which he returned then turned his attention back to Pansy Parkinson. No one seemed to notice the interaction between the two.

The years of animosity and hatred that the two teens had once shared was gone. When the Malfoy family joined the Light Side just before the war ended there became a somewhat tentative relationship between the two boys. You really couldn't call it a friendship but it was far from their former enemy status. The risk that the Malfoy's took in order to spy on Voldemort made Harry grow to respect them. It bothered him tremendously that they refused to have their help in the war acknowledged. There was really nothing he could do to change their minds so he vowed to forget about it and respect their wishes.

After everyone had gotten eaten their fill their turned their attention towards the head table where Dumbledore was just getting up to make his speech.

"Welcome back students! Both new and old. It's a pleasure seeing all your faces once again under such happy circumstances. I'm sure you're all anxious to get up to your dorms so you can get a good nights rest for your classes tomorrow"…_here there was a collective groan from all the tables_…Dumbledore chuckled, "so I won't make a long speech. I hope now that the danger is past us we can all continue the unity that was shown during the troubling times. On that note..Goodnight."

Everyone got up to make their way to their respective common rooms. On the way up Ginny fell into step beside Harry.

"Hi Harry," she smiled up at him.

"Hey Ginny, happy to be back?"

"Yeah it's great being back here don't you think? I'm sure this year will be a lot happier than the last. Well hopefully not everything about last year will change." At this statement she glanced nervously over at him.

Harry knew what she was getting at. Their relationship had been put on hold over the summer for obvious reasons, but they hadn't discussed it since the final battle. It wasn't really that he didn't want to continue the relationship, he just didn't really have much time to focus on it. He still liked Ginny, but there was just this nagging feeling in the back of his mind that something didn't feel right. He pushed that thought away for the time being. It wasn't fair to Ginny to not give them a fair chance, furthermore it wasn't fair to him either. He deserved a shot at being happy too.

"Don't worry Ginny, some things about last year definitely haven't changed." He gave her a small smile and grasped her hand firmly in his. As he saw the bright smile that lit up her face he knew that he'd made the right decision by giving them a chance.

While he was focusing on Ginny, he failed to notice the frown on a certain Slytherin's face as he made his way towards the dungeons.

A/N

Hope you liked this first chapter. Please review and tell me what you think and whether or not I should continue. All constructive criticism is welcome!


	2. Ch Ch Ch Changes

A/N: If you see a row of "X's" it means a scene change. I'm not sure how to translate it any other way because when I upload it's doesn't transfer when I post on ff. If anyone knows send me a message. Thanks

Chapter 2: **Ch Ch Ch Changes**

As Harry woke up the next morning he couldn't keep the huge grin off his face. He was back in his four-poster at Hogwarts! Even the knowledge that classes would begin in a couple of hours couldn't dampen his spirits.

As he looked around at his dorm mates he saw Neville, Seamus, and Dean already up and moving about. Ron, as was expected, was still buried beneath his covers.

"So who's going to have the honor of getting Ron up the first day back?" Seamus asked.

"Draw straws?" suggested Dean

"Good idea mate"

Harry conjured up four straws and held his hand out. Seamus, Dean, and Neville all picked one, leaving the last for Harry. They compared, and unfortunately for Dean, he'd drawn the shortest.

"Why me? This is the fourth time I've gotten the shortest!"

"Hey! It was your suggestion to do it this way wasn't it" Seamus argued

"Oh…yeah…I guess you're right" Dean said softly.

"Hey Dean…I'll get him up this morning and you can have a go tomorrow alright" Harry offered.

"Would you really Harry? Thanks a lot mate!"

Harry made his way over to Ron's bed and poked his shoulder. "Hey Ron. Come on..up you get." No answer. "RON!!!"

Harry had to take a step back as Ron jumped up and nearly took Harry's head off in the process.

"What..whatsa problem?" Ron was still clearly disoriented from his abrupt awakening.

"Nothing's wrong Ron. You just have to get up. Breakfast starts in about ten on get dressed." His job done, Harry made his way to the bathroom to take his own shower.

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As the boys entered the Great Hall they were waved over by Hermione who had saved them seats on either side of her.

"Here. Professor McGonagall gave me your timetables," she said handing over two rolls of parchment.

Harry looked down at his own parchment. He saw that he was signed up for Transfiguration, Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, Divination, Potions, Defense against the Dark Arts, and Herbology. Looking over at Ron's parchment Harry noticed that their schedules were nearly identical. Except instead of potions, Ron had History of Magic. Speaking of potions…..

"Mione, how is it possible that I'm even signed up for potions?" Harry asked

"Well…remember when I told you to speak to Professor McGonagall? I kinda figured you'd forgotten about it…which you did by the way…so I took it upon myself to do it for you. Luckily I did too because it turns out that there was only one more spot available in the class and she managed to convice Snape to let you in." she stated proudly

"Erm..I guess thanks are in order then?"

"No problem Harry. I'm just surprised that Snape was so easily convinced."

Even though he didn't tell the other two, Harry wasn't as surprised by the fact that Snape allowed him to take his NEWT level class. During the war Harry was trained extensively by Snape. Throughout the long hours spent training together they had come to a new understanding that many of their pre-conceived notions about one another were ill founded. Harry had even come to think of Snape…_Severus…_he mentally corrected himself, as a father figure. Not that he would actually come out and admit it to anyone, especially the potions master. He had even spent two weeks over the summer at Snape Manor. He mentally laughed at his friends' reactions if they knew that Severus actually had a Quidditch pitch in his backyard.

"Come on you two, I don't want to be late on our first day." Hermione said as she got up from the table. The two boys looked at one another and sighed, getting up and following her.

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"How some of you imbeciles managed to scrape by and make it into my class I'll never know." Snape sneered at the group of students. "I'll let you all know right now, I will accept nothing but the best from this class. If you can't keep up you will be dismissed. If I catch anyone goofing off and creating a danger to yourself or other students, you will be dismissed. If I catch anyone daring to sleep in this class I will hex you to hades and back…and then you will be dismissed. Understand?" The glare he sent around the room begged anyone to dare and question him. Everyone nodded.

"As part of Headmaster Dumbledore's new plan for "school unity", the disgusted look on Snape's face showed clearly what he thought of the headmaster's plan, "I will be implementing new seating arrangements. Everyone will be paired with someone from a different house." The look Snape sent around the room quickly disspelled the groans threatening to be released at his statements.

Snape snapped his fingers and a scroll appeared in his hands.

"Abbott and Nott"

"Bones and Bulstrode"

"Granger and Parkinson"

"Finnegan and Zabini"

The list went on and on. Harry could see the looks of torture on many faces as they were paired up. With each passing second his dread was growing. Until….

"Potter and Malfoy" Really Harry shouldn't have been surprised. It seemed that him and Draco were always thrown into these types of unwelcome situations with one another. Harry picked up his bag to move to where Draco was waiting.

"Potter" Malfoy greeted.

"Malfoy" Harry returned in the same indifferent tone Draco had used.

For several minutes there was an uncomfortable silence that descended between them. Soon Harry couldn't take it anymore so he decided to break it.

"So…how was your summer?"

"Are we really going to attempt small talk Potter?" Draco drawled.

"Errr…I guess not?" It was somewhere between a question and a statement. _Geez Harry could you sound anymore awkward…_he mentally berated himself. To his surprise he actually got a chuckle out of Draco.

"My summer was fine Potter. Went to France for a couple weeks. Cabo for another. Can't really complain too much. How about yourself? Do anything exciting, apart from defeating old Voldy of course?" Draco smirked

For some reason the fact that Draco could joke about the war had always made their conversations easy and not at all awkward like they would normally be with anyone else.

"I guess the most exciting thing that happened was finally ridding myself of the Dursleys." Apart from Ron and Hermione, Draco was the only other schoolmate that Harry had confided in about his life with his relatives. It was another one of those things they had shared during their time together in between training.

"I guess that is exciting for you…we'd better get started on this potion before Snape dismisses us on the first day. I'm not worried about myself, but you know it wouldn't take much for him to get rid of you." Draco quipped. Harry was extremely grateful that Draco understood the need to change the subject from such depressing matters.

"Yeah you're definitely right about that." Over the next half hour, the two worked together fairly well. Harry would do all the chopping and adding of ingredients, while Draco conducted the stirring and dictated the directions. As Harry was going to add the last gurdyroot to the cauldron his hand bumped into Draco's that was stirring. The jolt that went up Harry's arm at the contact was so strong it knocked him off his stool.

_What the hell was that?!?! _Harry exclaimed mentally

At the same time similar thoughts were running through Draco's head…_What the fuck did Potter do to me?!?!_

With as much grace as he could muster, Harry returned to his seat looking around to see if anyone else had noticed the scene between him and Draco. By the looks of it, no one had. He sent up a mental thanks at that small reprieve. By silent agreement neither boy commented on what had happened and continued working on their potion.

Ten minutes later they were told to pack up. Draco took their vial dample up to Snape's desk and nodded to Harry before leaving quickly. Harry got his own items together and turned to see Hermione waiting for him at the door.

No sooner had he got within hearing distance than Hermione turned to him and asked, "So Harry what was that little scene between you and Malfoy earlier?"


	3. A Hint of Normalcy

A/N: Just so you all know. In the summary for this story I stated that it was an AU, post-DH story. I will not be following the format of the books. Many characters who died in the books such as Dumbledore, Snape and others will be in this story. I also know that the war took place during parts of Harry's would-be 7th year. In case you didn't catch it earlier, in my story the time period for the war was the early part of the summer between 6th and 7th years. I just wanted to clear this up for those wondering. Now on with the story….

Disclaimer in first chapterChapter 3: A Hint of Normalcy

Two weeks had passed by since that fateful first day in potions. Surprisingly Hermione had taken Harry's excuse of a bad reaction to the gurdyroot easily enough. The Golden Trio, as many in the school had taken to calling them, were currently relaxing in the comfort of the Gryffindor common room. Currently Hermione was in a chair by the fireplace reading a book…big surprise there, while Harry and Ron where in the later stages of a wizards chess game. Ron was debating which of three moves he'd like to use to end the game. Harry couldn't understand why he kept subjecting himself to eventual doom everytime Ron asked to play the game. But then again it really was the only thing in which Ron bested him at so he figured he could live with it.

"Check mate!"

"Good game Ron."

"Sorry about that mate. But at least you lasted longer this time. I think you're getting better at it."

"Yeah. Sure." Pretty soon the activities of the day began to catch up to me and with it came exhaustion. I got up to make my way to the dormatories saying goodnight to Ron and Hermione on my way up. After quickly getting changed into my pajamas and climbing into bed, I laid back and gazed up at the ceiling. Thinking back on the past two weeks Harry realized that overall it had gone pretty smoothly, normal even. Just before dozing off he thought of the only thing that could make it even more perfectly normal…._Quidditch._

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The next morning at breakfast Harry gathered his team together. "Okay guys, tomorrow afternoon I've booked the Quidditch pitch so we can have our first tryouts." At his words a great cheer arose from the small group surrounding him."I'll post up flyers in the common room later today for anyone that's interested in trying out, but you guys can spread the word around as well." They spent a few more minutes discussing the upcoming season and different strategies they'd like to implement then they all headed their own way for class. On his way out of the hall Harry noticed Ginny waiting by the doors.

"Hey Harry. We haven't had too much time together so I thought maybe I'd walk you to class." Ginny said with a tinge of hopefullness.

"Sure. Sorry about not spending much time with you, it's just been somewhat hectic getting back into the swing of things ya know?"

"Yeah I do, but luckily Quidditch is starting up soon so we'll have a lot more time to spend together. You know the first Hogsmeade weekend is next week. Maybe we could go together?" There again was that hopeful tone.

"We can go together if that's what you want Ginny." He actually was looking forward to spending the time in Hogsmeade touring the Weasley twins' new joke shop with Ron and the other Gryffindor boys, but he figured he could sacrifice one weekend with Ginny. After all she was his girlfriend. Soon enough they were outside of Harry's potions class. He noticed Ginny was still standing there as if she was waiting for something. As she inched closer he was fairly certain he had figured out what she was waiting for. At the last possible second he turned his head and planted a kiss on her cheek. "I better get in there before Snape comes, you know how he is. See ya later Ginny." He couldn't help but notice the dissapointed look on her face as he walked away.

Why did I just do that? Why wouldn't I want to kiss my own girlfriend? Shaking off the confusing thoughts Harry entered the classroom.XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next afternoon Harry was in the locker rooms going over how the tryouts would run in front of the small mob of Gryffindors standing before him. He was fairly certain there wasn't this many possible candidates in Gryffindor. He decided to go through a few preliminary eliminations before they took the pitch.

"Okay if you're not in second year or above I must ask you to leave." About a quarter of the mob left. "If you're not in Gryffindor I must ask you to leave." Another third of the group was dwindled down. "If you've never been on a broom before I must kindly ask you to leave." After the next batch had departed the locker rooms that left a still sizable but now manageable group. "Okay everyone else lets head out to the pitch."

As they emerged from the locker rooms they were met with the sight of darting blurs of green and black flying above the pitch.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Ron exclaimed beside Harry

"Don't worry I'll handle this." Harry tried to calm down the red head.

Harry took to his broom and took off towards the Slytherins.

"Malfoy!"

"Hey there Potter. Funny seeing you here."

"Don't give me that crap Malfoy. You knew perfectly well I had booked the pitch today for the Gryffindor tryouts."

"Had you now? That's funny. Professor Snape didn't seem to mention that when I asked to book the pitch today."

"Well I did! So I'd really appreciate it if you took your team and left so I could continue with my tryouts." Harry was really becoming aggitated by Draco's calm demeanor.

"Fine Potter. We'll just come back after you and the Gryffindorks finish." With that Draco turned to head back to the ground beckoning his team to follow.

Wait a minute. What? He's just going to leave like that without a big blow up. Just because I ASKED him too? What is the world coming too?

"Wait! Malfoy!" Harry wasn't really sure why he was putting up an argument especially when Malfoy wasn't, but he couldn't just let Malfoy go away looking like the bigger man. "Look. I can't really blame you for being here if you truly didn't know I had booked the pitch, and it doesn't seem fare to just make you leave like that."

Draco looked at Harry with a look of complete confusion. "So what do you suggest Potter we draw straws?" Draco asked with amusement.

Harry wasn't about to admit the fact that it was exactly what he was going to suggest. "No. Maybe we could settle it with a quick seeker's game if you're up for it."

Draco looked at him calculatingly. "You know I'm never one to back down from a challenge Potter. Let's do it."

"Great. We'll give the snith a five minute head start." Both boys headed for the ground to retrieve the snith and explain what was going on to the waiting Gryffindors.

"What's going on Harry?" Ron asked coming up to him.

"Well Malfoy booked the pitch without knowing we already had so we're going to play a seekers game for the right to have the pitch today."

"You can't HONESTLY believe he didn't know we booked the pitch today can you?" Ron asked increduously.

"He truly didn't seem like he did Ron. Either way it's the only fair way to decide who gets to practice today. Besides you don't think I'm going to lose to Malfoy do you?" Harry asked with a cheeky grin

"Well of course not. But since when do Slytherins ever play fair?" No matter what plans Dumbledore had for house unity, Ron and the Slytherins just weren't ever going to cooperate.

"So you ready to do this Potter?" Draco asked coming over to stand by Harry.

"Ready whenever you are Malfoy." With that Harry let the snitch go. After a five minute wait, both boys took off into the air. Harry was hoping to catch sight of the snitch quickly and avoid dragging this out any longer than necessary. Draco's plan seemed to be tailing Harry until Harry caught sight of the snitch instead of wasting his effort actually looking for the snitch himself. After about twenty minutes of searching for the elusive speck of gold Harry caught sight of it just above the Hufflepuff stands. With a quick burst of speed he took off, Draco right behind him.

The bleachers were rapidly coming closer and Harry still felt Draco's presence right beside him. Leaning forward even further on his broom Harry stretched both hands out trying to gain the extra inch he needed. With a sudden swipe of his arm he managed to grab the tiny ball right as Draco went for it. With the extra momentum Harry wasn't as lucky with being able to pull up in time to miss the protruding steel beam at the top of the announcers booth.

With a sickening crunch the beam connected with his forehead. The sudden impact was enough the knock him backwards off the broom and he tumbled towards the fast approaching groound. No more than fifteen feet from making impact Harry resigned himself to his impending death…_I knew the normalcy was too good to last_….but the expected bone crushing crash never came. Instead two strong arms encircled his waist and laid him softly on the hard ground. As Harry looked up at his savior he met two bright silver eyes.

"Lucky I didn't catch the snitch this time, huh? I might not have had enough room in my hands to catch you." Draco chuckled out. But the laugh seemed strained even to Harry's ears.

"Harry! Are you okay mate! Gosh I thought you were a goner." Ron said as he rushed over to him.

"I'm fine Ron, just knocked my head a little." Harry tried to reassure his teammates by getting to his feet. _Maybe not the best idea…_he thought as the world swam before his eyes, and the last thing he saw before darkness enveloped him, was those same strong arms reaching out to break his fall.

A/N: R&R please! It really encourages me to write more. These first few chapters have just been coming out easily for me, but I don't want you guys to expect updates everyday. I'm sure I'll hit a mental roadblock somewhere along the way and it might take me a little longer to update.


	4. The beginning of Something New

A/N: Well I'm back! Sorry I haven't been able to update in a few days but I've been extrememly busy. Well enough about me. On with the story…..

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. Everything else (characters, setting, etc.) belong to J. K. Rowling and co.**

**WARNING!!! Slightly mature scenes ahead! This fic is rated M+ just as a reminder!**

Chapter 4: The beginning of something new

Draco kept telling himself that he was just here because he wanted to make sure that no one could put the blame on him for Harry's unfortunate accident. By no means was he still lingering in the corner nearest the bed that held the raven haired boy because he was actually _concerned_ about his health. But after Ron and Hermione had explained what happened to Madam Pomfrey and Draco had been cleared to go, still he stayed and kept his silent vigil by the bedside. All the excuses he had been repeating silently to himself had started to sound lame even in his own mind.

_This is ridiculous. He's clearly going to be fine. Madam Pomfrey even said so. He just needs rest so his body can heal. There's no reason I need to still be here. Why am I even here anyway? Potter and I aren't even friends. He wouldn't dare be standing here if it were me in that bed…I need to leave. NOW._

But no matter how hard Draco tried to command his legs to move towards the door his body wouldn't cooperate. So there he stood, still waiting until the dark haired boy woke up.

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Harry opened his eyes. And immediately shut them again blocking out the blinding white light. _Am I in heaven?_ He slowly cracked his eyes open again, slowly acclimating them to the light. As he looked around he realized that his first guess as to his location couldn't be further from the truth. _No not heaven, just my own personal form of hell. _His many trips to the Hogwarts imfirmary were legendary. A running joke of sorts between the students was how long Harry's record of visits to the place would stand before or if it would ever be broken. Madam Pomfrey had even set up his own personal room.

As he began to adjust to his current surroundings the memory of how he had ended up here in the first place slowly came back to him.

_Malfoy saved me._

As if the thought alone conjured him, Draco Malfoy sauntered over to Harry's side.

"You're awake."

"How long have I been out?"

"About five hours. Madam Pomfrey gave you half a dose of Dreamless Sleep."

"How long have you been here?"

"Errr…about that long." Draco fidgeted as though admitting he had been here for as long as Harry had been out brought him great discomfort.

Harry decided against questioning why he was even here in the first place. He didn't really want to make the boy more uncomfortable than he already visibly was.

"So umm…thanks for saving me."

"No problem, I mean I couldn't just let you die could I? I'm sure if I had The Weasel would have found some way to blame me for it. It was merely self-preservation."

Harry knew that wasn't the true reasoning behind Draco's actions, but he knew how Malfoys hated to be associated with any acts that could be determined as what they deemed "self-less".

"Sure. Well whatever your motivations, thanks the same."

"Yeah. Well I better be going. See you around Potter."

"See ya Malfoy." And with that the blond haired Slytherin swiftly left the room leaving Harry to his thoughts.

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"Harry! You're awake." Hermione rushed over and threw her arms around Harry's neck, effectively cutting off his breathing supply.

"'Mion..Mione..can't…bre…breath" Harry struggled to get out. Realizing Harry's predicament Ron rushed over and pried Hermione's death grip off of Harry's neck.

"Whoops. Sorry Harry." She stated sheepishly.

"S'okay."

"So how are you feeling mate? Madam Pomfrey said you should be all healed up now." Ron said.

"Yeah I'm fine. Just a slight headache,but nothing major."

"You know Malfoy was here earlier. No idea why the ferret was sticking around longer than necessary. I was going to stay and watch him just in case he tried something, but 'Mione said if he really wanted you to bite the dust he wouln't have went through the trouble of saving you earlier." Ron shrugged.

"Err..yeah..makes sense I guess. He was actually here when I woke up." Harry was desperately trying to think of a subject change. He didn't really know why, but he wasn't overly fond of the idea of questioning Malfoy's actions with his friends at the moment. Luckily Hermione who seemed to have the uncanny, and slightly frightening ability to read Harry's mind decided to spare him.

"So when do you think Madam pomfrey will let you get out of here?"

"She said she wanted to keep me overnight just for observation. I should be free before breakfast tomorrow."

"That's great Harry. So when are you going to reshedule Quidditch tryouts? We really didn't even get a chance to start them today thanks to those damn Slytherins." Ron grumbled.

Thankfully before he could begin his latest tirade about all things evil with Slytherin Madam Pomfrey came and shooed them out claiming her patient needed rest.

The last thing Harry remembered before he drifted off into sleep that night was a pair of mesmerizing gray eyes filled with concern looking down upon him.

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After receiving a clean bill of health and a strong reprimand from Madam Pomfrey about being more careful and not risking his life every few weeks, Harry made his way towards the Great Hall for breakfast.

As he turned the last corner he caught sight of a shocking head of white blond hair out of the corner of his eye. Turning, he saw Malfoy leaning up against the wall half hidden behind a statue of Barmy the Great. Taking a closer look, Harry realized that he wasn't alone. There on her knees, with a mouthful of Draco's hard erection was Pansy Parkinson. Neither noticed Harry's shocked form standing there. Pansy was too busy pleasuring Draco, and Draco currently had his head thrown back in exstacy and eyes closed.

Harry stood rooted to the spot. He could not force himself to move away from the sight before him. As he looked at the pleasure flickering across Malfoy's face and the slightly puffy parted lips letting out quiet moans, he felt himself harden instantly. As if suddenly feeling eyes upon them, Draco snapped his gaze to Harry's.

Green eyes clashed with gray and locked. At the very same moment Draco let out a guttural moan and climaxed. As if the spell was broken, Harry came to himself and sprinted to the Great Hall, trying to put as much distance between himself and Malfoy as humanly possible.

Not until right before he opened the doors to the hall did he realize a sticky substance coating the inside of his trousers. Muttering a quick cleaning spell, he strode into the hall, hoping like hell the flush on his cheeks would go unnoticed.

A/N: Sorry for the shortness of the chapter. I just wanted to get something out to you guys for making you wait for a few days.I'll have a longer one up sometime tomorrow. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review. It really encourages me to continue.


	5. Ignoring the Obvious

A/N: Thank you to all those who actually reviewed the last chapter. Sorry about how unpleasing the Draco/Pansy interaction was for some of you, but unfortunately it's a necessary evil for the story. I hope this chapter is to your liking…

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plotChapter 5: Ignoring the Obvious

Harry sat in his Transfiguration class wondering if there was such a thing as a mental sponge. He seriously wished there was because the images that continued to flash through his mind were pure torture. His body kept trying to convince him that it was a _good_ kind of torture, but he refused to even contemplate such a ridiculous thing. He kept asking himself why he didn't move as soon as he realized what was happening between Draco and Pansy. It reminded him somewhat of a car crash. You know you shouldn't look, but some unknown force makes it impossible for you to turn away.

He couldn't stop thinking about the look on Draco's face as he reached his climax. Soft silky blond tresses matted to his forehead by a light sheen of perspiration, glazed over smoky grey eyes filled with lust, soft pink lips open in a silent moan…._What the hell am I THINKING?!?! Merlin, what is wrong with me? What? Am I attracted to Malfoy now? I mean come on..it's MALFOY…and he's a GUY!!!!_

Harry figured it was about time he had a little talk with himself. He didn't even want to recognize how crazy that statement was. Okay he could admit that Malfoy was attractive. From a purely objective standpoint. I mean even if he hated the guy..admittedly he didn't like him very much…he could acknowledge the fact that he was gorgeous. In a non-gay way. _Okay moving on…_. A little voice in the back of Harry's brain was playing devils advocate.

So explain why you were actually turned on by watching Malfoy get off

God how Harry hated that voice. Harry had a reasonable explanation for this as well…kinda. He had just gotten back with Ginny, and they hadn't exactly rekindled the physical side of the relationship yet. So he was sexually frustrated. Watching someone get off….even if it was a guy…and Malfoy…just made it more pronounced. Yeah that sounded good.

Satisfied that all his disturbing actions that morning had been reasonably explained away he tuned back into McGonagall's lecture about animagi with a clearer head.

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Draco's POV

For once in the past 7 years of attending Hogwarts, Draco was actually trying to focus on the menotonous tone of Professor Binns' voice in History of Magic. The other alternative was spacing out and allowing his thoughts to return to the bizarre events that had occurred before breakfast that morning. And Draco really didn't want to think about that much more. No matter how hard he tried however, his brain just wouldn't cooperate.

Did I really get off in front of Harry bloody Potter of all people?

At first Draco tried to brush it off as a hallucination of some sort. But why in the world would he be hallucinating about Potter at a time like that? He wouldn't dare let his thoughts go down that path. Besides, the obvious flush on Harry's cheeks when Draco entered the Great Hall a few minutes later, made it quite obvious that he truly had witnessed the event. Then there came the question of why Potter just stood there like a stunned Hippogriff? Draco, never one to be modest, didn't really care about the blatant show of exabitionism. It wouldn't have been the first time for him. What really bugged him however was his reaction when he realized Harry was standing there. When he locked eyes with the bright emerald colored ones of Harry, his body reacted instinctively and he experienced the most wonderful orgasm in all of his 17 years. And believe him, there have been many.

Admittedly Draco wouldn't deny the fact that Potter was a good looking bloke. Even if his sense of fashion was way off. It wasn't a big secret in Slytherin house that Draco straddled the fence in terms of his sexual preferences. Not that he ever made it obvious. So the idea of being attracted to Potter because he was a guy wasn't particularly disturbing. It was the fact that it was POTTER that he couldn't wrap his mind around.

_I think all of Pansy's perfume that I've been inhaling lately is messing with my brain. I'll just have to stay as far away from him as I can until the fumes have left my system._

That plan failed spectacularly when his next class came around. Double Potions with the Gryffindors.

You could have cut the tension between the two with a knife. If Draco didn't know any better he would have thought someone had performed a body bind on Potter as stiff as he was sitting beside him. Draco figured the best course of action to take was to simply ignore the actions of that morning and act as though they never happened. He just hoped Harry would go along with the plan.

"So Potter, when are you planning on rescheduling your tryouts. I don't want us to accidentally book the pitch for the same time again."

At the first sound of Draco's voice, Harry nearly jumped so high out of his seat he touched the ceiling. It seemed to take him a few moments to process what Draco had said to him. Draco mentally rolled his eyes at the clueless git.

"Ahhh…I…I booked the pitch for Thursday actually. Maybe it'd be a good idea if we traded schedules with one another so we wouldn't cum…I mean cross paths with each other…on the Quidditch pitch I mean." If Harry's face could get any redder it would be rivaling Weasley's for the award of brightest spot in the room.

Draco had to force himself repeatedly not to burst out in laughter at Potter's slip of the tongue. The sight of Harry's obvious embarresment didn't help matters, as it only helped to increase Draco's amusement.

"Sure Potter. That sounds like a plan. I mean we wouldn't want to run across each other in any positions that could be used against one another right? To the advantage of our team I mean." Draco couldn't help to take another small dig at the flushed boy. Content with his Harry goading for the day, he turned back to the board to continue with his note taking.

A/N: Hey guys! I just wanted to get out a chapter that covered both of Harry's and Draco's reactions to the actions from the end of the last chapter. I promise the next one will be more action packed. Please review to let me know what you think about the chapter and just the story in general. This is my first fic and any advice or constructive criticism is always welcome. I can't improve my writing unless I know what areas to work on. Thanks!


	6. Is this someone's idea of a joke?

A/N: Hey Guys! Soooo sorry about the wait, but I've been EXTREMELY busy the past week getting ready for my graduation. I graduated from college yesterday! YAY! LOL…well I had some extra time today so I decided to give you guys an update. I'm going to be relaxing for the next week or two so I should be updating at a more regular pace. So without further ado…..

Chapter 6: Is this someone's idea of a joke?…

Harry's POV

_Why me? I think someone UP THERE must be related to Snape and take great pleasure in making my life utter hell. _Harry could not believe his luck. Or lack thereof. As soon as he had taken his seat in Potions, Snape took great pleasure in announcing that as part of their final grade they would be required to do a project in which they would have to come up with either their own invented potion, or an improvement on an already existed potion. As if this wasn't already torture enough for Harry, considering how daft he was at potion brewing, Snape had to add in the nail in the coffin, stating quite gleefully that they would be working with their seatmates. Wonderful.

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Draco's POV

_Why me? I think someone UP THERE must be related to Dumbledore and take great pleasure in making my life completely miserable. _That's the only conclusion Draco could come up with. He knew that Snape of course took absolute pleasure in torturing Potter, so he could see him wanting to make Potter suffer with such a project. BUT HIM??? He was Snape's godson for Merlin's sake. He wouldn't want Draco to suffer just so he could get back at Potter for being the bane of his existence would he? At least he hoped not. But it seemed like he would just be another casualty in the Potter v. Snape war. Great.

For the next half hour Draco thought of possible ways that he could have as minimal contact with Potter as possible, while still getting a good grade on his assignment. It was a significant portion of their final grade so slacking off the assignment just because he was paired with Potter was unacceptable. He didn't dare trust Potter with any portion of the assignment on his own, considering how dismal his potion brewing was. There really was no way around it. He was stuck with Potter for the next Merlin-only knows how many weeks.

_Well the sooner we get started the sooner it will be over._

"Oi. Potter!"

"What do you want Malfoy?"

"Look Potter. I don't want to be doing this project anymore than you do okay? We're just going to have to work together so we can get a good grade. I figured we should start as soon as possible. It wouldn't be good to put it off to the last minute."

"Yeah you're right. So I guess we should start tonight, yeah?"

"That's fine. Meet me in the library after dinner?"

"Sure."

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Harry's POV

_Who would've thought Malfoy could sound so reasonable? The bugger seems to surprise me every time I talk to him. Scary._

Harry was currently in the common room catching up on his Charms homework so he could have the free time to work with Malfoy later.

"Bad luck there Harry. Getting stuck with the ferret for a partner. I'd rather fail the whole class than to be stuck with that git." Ron shuddered at the very thought of being partnered with Malfoy.

"Hmm." Harry responded non-commitally. He really wished Ron would get over the petty rivalries. I mean he wasn't necessarily bothered by Ron's comment's personally about Malfoy, but he knew that there were far greater things to be concerned with. He would have thought the war would have improved Ron's views on different groups of people…specifically Slytherins. Guess that was wishful thinking.

"So are you really going to go meet him after dinner? I think you should just blow him off. He's supposedly good at potions. Let him do all the work."

"Ron!" Hermione scolded.

"What?!?" Ron looked totally perplexed at why Hermione would seem offended by pushing off all the work to Malfoy.

"I'm not doing that Ron. It's my grade too. And knowing Malfoy he'd just tell Snape he did all the work. I'm close enough to Snape failing me for the smallest infraction, much less giving him a valid reason to do it."

"Come on you two. Let's go down to the Great Hall, dinners nearly ready to start." Hermione thankfully broke up the discussion.

Every step Harry took closer to the Great Hall increased his trepidation for what was to happen afterwards. He didn't know how he was going to be able to deal with being in such close proximity alone with Malfoy for such an extended period of time.

_Guess I'll just have to grit my teeth and bear it._

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Draco's POV

_Where the bloody hell is Potter?!?! I clearly told him to meet me here at 8. Bloody git probably can't even tell time properly_

Draco paced back and forth in a semi-secluded corner in the potion's section of the library, silently seething at Harry for daring to be late meeting him. After five more minutes of mentally plotting Potter's demise Draco's turned at the sound of ragged breathing and loud running footsteps. Draco mentally chuckled at the very Malfoy-like glare Madam Pince sent Harry's way as he came rushing through the doors.

"Sor…sorry for being late." Harry panted.

"And why, praytell, were you late Potter? Last time I checked the Great Hall was a mere five minute walk from here.I know your sense of direction is comparable to that of a blast-ended shrewt but I figured after 7 years here you would have at least made it to the library at least once." Malfoy drawled

He could see the flush on Harry's face but couldn't determine whether it was from his run to the library or anger.

"Listen Malfoy. I very well do know my way here just fine. Not that it's any of your business, but Ginny asked me to walk her back to Gryffindor Tower since I didn't know how long I would be stuck here with you."

Draco seethed at the idea that Potter would find his company less appealing than that of the red-headed deplorable winch.

"I would think you'd rather thank me for getting you away from the clutches of the Weaselette's company Potter. I can only imagine how torturous that must be."

"Don't call her that Malfoy!"

"Fine fine. Let's just get started shall we?"

"Fine."

**Harry's POV**

Over the next two hours the two sat across from each other brainstorming possible potions they could brew. After much arguing over whether or not they would invent their own potion or improve one already in existence, Harry finally succumbed to Draco's petulant whining to invent their own. He had to admit that Draco's adamant stance that they would receive much higher marks for it was what swayed him to agree.

Now the problem was coming up with ideas about what kind of potion they actually wanted to make.

Draco's idea what the make an ever-lasting hair shine solution. Harry laughed until tears slid down his cheeks, then he realized that Draco was actually serious, and commenced to gaffaw for another ten minutes until Madam Pince threatened to throw them out.

After much brooding over being tremendously offended at Harry's laughter, Draco asked what his brilliant idea was since he didn't seem to like his idea for a hair solution.

Harry thought the idea of a broom wax solution was a good idea. After looking thouroughly confused, Draco asked what in Merlin's name was "wax". Harry carefully explained how he had gotten the idea from car wax. Then had to explain what exactly a car was.

Draco vehemently refused to invent anything even remotely close to having to do with muggles.

So that is where they currently stood. A stalemate of sorts. Each upset with the other for shooting down their ideas, and refusing to agree to the others suggestions.

"Look Malfoy. We'll get no where if we keep up like this. We have to come to some kind of agreement. I don't want to sit here all night."

"Okay. You're right. I suggest we agree right now to truly work together on this and listen to each others ideas without pre-judgement."

"That sounds good to me."

"I don't think we're going to accomplish much more tonight, do you? Let's meet up again tomorrow after classes end."

"Alright." Harry stood up and began gathering his books together, while Malfoy did the same.

They walked out of the library together and made their way towards the Slytherin and Gryffindor common rooms. At the point where their paths split they turned to one another. After a seconds hesitation Harry stuck out his hand.

"Goodnight Malfoy."

The irony of the situation was not lost on Draco, who couldn't help but remember that day 6 years ago in Madam Malkin's shop. Except then the roles were reversed with him being the one offering his hand. A part of him contemplated the idea of rejecting Harry's outstretched hand, just as he had done to him so many years ago. That was a very small part however. With just a small hesitation he grasped the outstretched hand.

"Goodnight Potter."

As they both turned and began their trek to their respective common rooms they couldn't ignore the same tingle in their hand that had presented itself in Potions that first day.

A/N:

I would appreciate it very much if you guys could give me some ideas on what type of potion Harry and Draco should brew. The more original the better. If used in the story credit will definitely be given to the great mind that thought of the idea. Thanks and review.


	7. Pozione delle Sensibilità

A/N: Hey guys! Super sorry for the wait, but I've just been taking the past week to relax. Well I'm back at it now so I should be getting out more chapters soon. Thanks for reading, and keep reviewing!

I'd also like to thank everyone for their potion ideas. They were a big help.

Thanks to No1MournstheWicked for the great reviews and ideas!

This is my longest chapter yet! Whoop Whoop. LOL…Now back to the story…..

**Chapter 7: ****Pozione delle Sensibilità**

"Too bad you can't go to the twins' shop with us Harry. It's not going to be the same with you not being there." Ron grumbled.

"Yeah, I was really looking forward to it too. Make sure you bring me some of their new products back, yeah?"

"Of course. They'll probably give you more stuff than me. And I'm their brother!" Ron stated increduously.

Harry laughed. "Yeah you're probably right. It probably has something to do with me giving them the funds to actually start up their business though."

"Yeah you're right. Besides they think of you just as much like a brother as they do me anyway."

Harry smiled at Ron's though the Weasley's had stated the fact that they considered Harry a part of their family numerous times, it never failed to please him.

"I might still be able to stop by later though. I guess it just depends on what Ginny wants to do."

"Alright. Well I better go down and meet the other guys so I'll see you later mate."

"Bye Ron."

Harry turned back to his wardrobe to pick out an outfit for the trip to Hogsmeade. He wasn't really sure what to wear considering that Ginny hadn't really specified what she wanted to do for the day. He just hoped that none of her plans included a trip to Madam Puddifoots deplorable pub.

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"Let's go into Madam Puddifoots for a while Harry" Ginny said pulling him in the direction of the pub dubbed "lover's place".

Harry mentally groaned. He should have known he wouldn't be able to get away from the place so easily. It was one of Ginny's favorite spots when they had dated the previous year. No matter how many times he begged her to skip over the place she always seemed to be able to coax him into going anyway.

"Ginny don't you want to go to a more….neutral location? It's always so stifling in there. The lights are so dim I can barely see my hand in front of my face!" Harry pleaded.

"Oh Harry. It's not that bad. Besides there are so many people in the other pubs. We'll be able to get more privacy here compared to somewhere like the Three Broomsticks. Don't you want to spend more alone time together?" Ginny looked up at him with a small pout.

How could he turn her down when she was making that face?

"Of course I want to spend more time with you Ginny. If you think it's better here than the Three Broomsticks then fine we can go."

Ginny smiled brightly at his ready agreement.

They made their way over to the shop and entered just as a couple was leaving out. Harry couldn't help but notice the slightly flushed faces of the two leaving. He could only imagine what could have caused those reactions. He also didn't fail to notice the knowing glances and slight smirks that passed between Ginny and the other girl as she dragged her boyfriend away. Suddenly Harry found himself becoming distinctly uncomfortable.

"Well hello dearies! I haven't seem you two in here for awhile. How about I show you the nice secluded booth over this way" Madam Puddifoot said as she lead them through the slew of tables.

After they were seated and had ordered two butterbeers, Harry looked around and noticed that the décor of the shop hadn't changed in the least since he was last there. If anything it was worse than he remembered. There were new pink lace curtains that adorned the windows and small fairies were now zooming around each table serenading the couples with small harps.

Harry couldn't help but notice the silence between him and Ginny, and slowly it was starting to become uncomfortable. The only problem was he really didn't know what to say to her. Luckily she saved him from wracking his brain for a topic.

"I'm glad that spill you took the other day in quidditch tryouts didn't have any long term effects."

"Yeah me too." _I really don't want to think about that day too much. It only ends up with me thinking about what happened the morning afterwards….damn Malfoy…always managing to creep into my thoughts_

"It was really surprising Malfoy was the one to save you. I would think as much as he hates you, he'd rather have let you fall."

Damn! Now she's bringing him up too

"Err..not really. I mean we don't really hate each other now. The way we're always thrown together working with each other, we've come to a sort of understanding. He's not too bad when you get to know him."

"That's hard to imagine. Malfoy's the biggest prick in the whole school."

For some reason it really irked Harry's nerves hearing Ginny talk that way about Draco. She didn't really know him enough to just call him a prick.

"Well I must say Weaslette, your opinion of me doesn't faze me in the least."

Harry looked up startled.

There was Malfoy in the flesh looking down on Ginny with a look of utter loathing.

Leave it up to Malfoy to have perfect timing at hear that part of our conversation

"Well it's nothing but the truth anyway Malfoy. Even Harry agrees with me. Don't you Harry?" Ginny looked at Harry with an expectant look on her face.

"Umm…well….err.." Harry didn't know what to say. He was still reeling from the shock of Draco being there at all. What was he doing in Madam Puddifoots anyway? As if to answer his unspoken question, Pansy Parkinson sauntered over and wrapped a possessive arm around Draco's waist.

"Come on Drakey. Madam Puddifoot has a table waiting for us." She looked up at Draco's with barely concealed lust.

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Draco's POV

_Salazar does she need to use that god awful nickname. And in public no less. In front of PotHead of all people!_

"Look Pansy. How about you just go wait for me I'll be over shortly." Draco really didn't want to deal with her clinginess in front of Potter.

"Fine Draco. Just make sure you hurry. I want to show you the new fairies Madam Puddifoot put up. You know that was my suggestion don't you!" Pansy's enthusiasm was evident.

Draco heard a muffled snort from behind him, and had the distinct impression it came from Potter. Pansy rushed off to hold their table with a parting request for Draco to hurry.

Draco turned his attention back to Potter and the Weaslette.

"Well Potter I hope you don't plan on spending the whole day here. You know we have that project to work on."

"Yes I know Malfoy. I told you I'd be there on time today. Relax"

"Where do you get off telling Harry what to do Malfoy. You can't dictate his time. If he wants to spend all day with me then he will!" Ginny stated vehemently.

How can Potter stand that little wench. She's nearly as bad as the Weasel

Draco chose to ignore Ginny's outburst. He figured if he stated what he really wanted to say it might desolve the tentative truce he had formed with Harry.

"I was just checking Potter. I'll see you later." With that Draco casually made his way over to Pansy.

"What were you talking about with scar head and his little girlfriend?" Pansy asked as soon as he sat down

"I was just discussing the potions project we have to work on later Pansy. Nothing serious."

"I don't know why you have to work with him at all. You two loathe each other. I'm sure if you discussed it with Professor Snape he'd let you do an individual assignment. You shouldn't have to be tortured with Potter's presence." She stated smugly as if she'd come up with the perfect solution.

"Pansy please. It's really not as bad as I'd thought working with him. As long as I don't let him handle anything major dealing with the brewing, he's competent enough."Draco stated cooly.

"I can't believe you're actually giving him credit for something Draco. I would have thought you'd be jumping at the chance to get out of working with him. If I didn't know any better I'd think you actually _liked_ the idea of him being your partner." Pansy gave him a calculating look.

"Look Pansy. Just drop it already would you. Unless you want to spend the whole afternoon discussing Potter." Draco was becoming increasingly agitated with her continuous probing. He wouldn't even admit the fact to himself how close she'd come to the truth about his view about working with Potter.

Pansy must have realised she'd struck a nerve and readily let the subject drop. Even she didn't dare to push Draco's buttons too much.

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Harry's POV

"Can you believe the nerve of him! Coming over here demanding your time." Ginny was still seething about Draco's sudden appearance. Harry would have loved to put the whole thing behind him.

"He wasn't really demanding my time Ginny. He was just reminding me about our meeting tonight. That's all."

"Why are you defending the bloody git Harry?" Ginny looked at him quizzically

"I'm not. I'm just saying that….o forget it. Can we just leave? Let's go over to Fred and George's shop. I told the guys we might stop by there." Harry was looking for any excuse to get out of the stifling shop and as far from Malfoy and pug faced Parkinson as he could. The fawning Pansy was doing towards Draco was started to make him nauseous.

"Fine Harry."

The two got up and made their way towards the door. With one last look towards the blond Slytherin, Harry made his way out into the streets of Hogsmeade.

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"Harry!"

"How's it going…."

"O buddy o pal. Haven't seen you…."

"in a while friend"

The twins form of dialogue never failed to amuse Harry. The way they finished each others sentences was unique only to them.

"Hey there Fred..George. I see that you guys have been keeping busy since the last time I saw you." Harry said referencing the opening of the new store.

"Definitely. Not only have we opened up this spot, we're in the works to open another branch in France this spring." Fred exclaimed with enthusiasm.

"We're taking over the world slowly but surely." George added with a grin.

"Just in a slightly different way than old Voldy of course" Fred stated with a chuckle.

"Glad to hear it. Wouldn't want to have to vanquish you guys too." Harry joked.

"So Harry. How about we show you some of our new and improved products. Gotta give our primary investor first crack at them yea?" Fred began making his way around the shop grabbing certain items and depositing them in a Weasley Wizard Wheezes bag.

Ron came out the back of the shop and made his way over towards Harry.

"So mate. What did you and Ginny get up to?"

"We went to Madam Puddifoots for a while"

Ron grimaced slightly. He shared the same outlook as Harry about the shop. "Bad luck mate. Was it really that bad?"

Ginny took this opportunity to offer her input

"Yes it was that bad. Not because of the location mind you. It was the unexpected, and UNWANTED guests that ruined the mood."

Ron looked at Harry questioningly

"Malfoy happened to stop by our table."

"What did that ferret faced git want?" Ron's ever increasingly red face showed what he thought of the idea of Malfoy showing up.

"It was nothing bad Ron. He was just reminding me of our project meeting we have tonight. He wasn't making trouble." Harry said exasperatedly. He was getting increasingly tired of having to defend Malfoy's actions against his friends.

"Speak for yourself Harry. I felt he was extremely rude and uncourteous." Ginny still wouldn't let the thing go. Harry sighed.

"Look guys I'm going to head back to Hogwarts. I want to get some work done before tonight alright."

Ginny looked crestfallen at Harry's sudden announcement.

"Do you really need to leave so soon Harry? I thought we could spend all day together."

"I'm sorry Ginny. I really need to do some homework before I meet Malfoy later."

At the mention of Draco's name, both Weasley's faces became a distinct shade redder.

"Well if you'd like to spend the time with Malfoy instead of me then FINE!"

At those parting words Ginny stormed out the door. Harry looked towards Ron for an explanation, thouroughly confused.

Ron just shrugged his shoulders

The twins came over and handed Harry two full bags of products they had gathered.

"Here you go Harry. Use them wisely…"

"…and destructively. I know you'll make us proud"

Harry gave them a small smile.

"Sure will guys. See ya later." With that Harry made his way back to the castle to get ready for his meeting with Draco.

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Harry decided it would be best to leave ten minutes earlier than he normally would just in case, so Draco wouldn't have any excuse to berate him this time. With any luck he could even beat the Slytherin this time to their meeting place.

As he entered the library he saw the blonde waiting for him by the same spot they had used last time.

_How does he manage to get here so early? Well at least I'm not late this time…._

"Glad to see you can actually be on time Potter."

"Shut it Malfoy." Harry said, but there was no malice behind his words.

"So I guess we should decide on our potion tonight. We really can't afford to lose any more time brainstorming. We need to get started on the brewing. You got any ideas?"

"Not really. I thought you would have come up with something"

Draco looked at Harry scathingly

"Look Potter. I'm not going to be doing all the work here. I'm sure I'll be doing most of the brewing anyway. I thought you could at least come up with an idea on what we would be brewing."

"Well every idea that I HAVE come up with you shoot down!"

"Maybe if they weren't so ridiculous I wouldn't be shooting them down!"

They really were getting no where with this conversation

"Way to be really considerate of my feelings Malfoy. Great of you to call my ideas ridiculous." Harry crossed his arms and slumped back in his chair.

"Don't be so sensative Potter. Why should I care about your feelings! Wait…feelings….feelings….FEELINGS!" Draco looked up excitedly

"What are you lookings so crazy eyed for Malfoy? And why may I ask do you keep repeating feelings?" If Harry didn't know any better he wouldn't thought Malfoy was possessed.

"That's it Potter! Our potion. We can do a feeling potion!"

"What are you going on about Malfoy? A feeling potion? I'm not too sure that's allowed…Snape would kill us…isn't that kinda too….mature for a project?" Harry said worriedly

"Mature? What are you going on about Potter?"

"You know. Wouldn't that be inappropriate?" Harry looked at Draco as though he were dense

"Inappropriate? What…what a minute…Salazar Potter! Get your mind out of the gutter man! I wasn't talking about THAT kind of feeling potion." Draco looked at Harry incredulously

"Oh. Sorry. Well what kind of feeling potion were you talking about then?" Harry's face had heated up remarkably fast. He looked away from Draco trying to cover up the fact of his embarassment.

"Well what I was thinking is that we could do a potion kind of similar to that of the Polyjuice Potion"

Harry looked at Draco with a bit of trepidation. His previous experiences with Polyjuice were not something he wanted to repeat again

"The difference with our potion and that of Polyjuice however would be instead of looking like the subject of your sample of DNA, you would take on their feelings. For example, if I were to take a sample of your hair and mix it with the potion I would be able to experience your feelings." Draco looked excited by the thought of just starting on the potion.

Harry thought about it. It didn't sound like a bad idea at all.

"That is actually a pretty good idea Draco. I never would have thought of that."

"That doesn't surprise me." _Wait a minute. Did Potter just call me DRACO. That's a first._

_Wait a minute. Did I just call him DRACO?!?! Oh man, hope he didn't catch it_

Harry tried desperately to cover up his blunder

"Err…yeah so I guess we should get started on this as soon as possible. Any idea about how long it'll take to brew?"

"I'm guessing just as long as the Polyjuice potion. We'll most likely be using many of the same ingrediants and basic brewing techniques."

"Well I think we've gotten a lot accomplished tonight so we should wrap it up don't you think?" Harry desperately wanted to get away from the awkwardness that was slowing starting to emerge.

"Yeah I agree. We should come up with a name for it though."

"Alright any ideas?" Harry really didn't think his mind was in a fit state to come up with anything at the moment.

"How about Pozione delle Sensibilità? The potion of feelings"

"Sounds good to me." Harry readily agreed.

"Great. Guess I'll see you later Potter. Goodnight" Draco got up to leave

"Yeah. 'Night Malfoy"

Draco ignored the slight pang of dissapointment at Harry's revert back to his usual form of addressing him.

A/N: Don't forget to review! Also tell me whether or not you'd like to see Ron and Hermione be agreeable aobut a relationship between Harry and Draco, or whether you'd like to see them be firmly against it.


	8. Closer

A/N: Wow! You guys don't k rw how extremely happy you made me with all the reviews I received from the last chapter. It truly made my day. Like I said before, reviews really give me inspiration to write more which is why you're receiving a faster update. Keep them coming! Now…on with the story

Chapter 8: Closer

Harry was sitting with the rest of the Gryffindors in the Great Hall for breakfast when the morning post arrived. Reflectively, he looked up for any sign of Hedwig's snow white form amongst the other owls. Suprisingly enough, she was there flying towards him, a letter attached to her leg.

"Hey there girl" Harry reached up to stroke her downy soft feathers and offered her a piece of bacon. "What have you got there for me?" He carefully relieved her of the letter, curious as to who would be writing to him.

_Harry,_

_If you're not busy after classes this afternoon, I thought you'd like to join me for tea._ _You can send a reply with your owl if you cannot attend. If I receive no reply then I will take it to assume I can expect you later today._

_Severus_

Harry finished reading the note, a small smile gracing his features. He was extremely glad that the relationship he had formed with Severus was continuing. He had been slightly afraid that when they returned to Hogwarts that Snape would revert back to the cruel treatment he had inflicted on Harry the previous years they had known each other. Over the summer Harry had realised that he relied on Severus much in the same way a son would rely on their own father. Their relationship was different than the one he had formed with Sirius, and even that of Remus. He could expect Snape to truly state what he felt without holding back whether or not it might hurt Harry's feelings.

It had taken him a while to understand that Severus wasn't trying to hurt Harry or demean him by constantly staying on him. He was doing it so that Harry wouldn't settle for anything less than his absolute best. If it wasn't for Severus, Harry didn't doubt that he would have failed in the final battle. Every day Snape would work with him. He wouldn't only train him in defense, but offense as well. He taught him potions, healing, charms, occlumency, and most importantly life lessons.

Harry never realised how much knowledge he truly lacked about the wizarding world. Ever since he found out he was a wizard people had fawned all over him. In the majority of the publics eyes he could do no wrong. No one really ever grasped the fact that Harry had no idea about so many things regarding magic. There was never anyone to sit down and thouroughly explain the different customs and traditions of wizarding families. The only thing people seemed to care about was whether or not he could save them from Voldemort. All they truly seemed to instill in him was who was on his side and who wasn't. Who was good and who was evil. Many of those notions he had recently come to dismiss.

After he had explained to Severus about his life before Hogwarts while living with the Dursley's,and how much he truly hated all the attention he received from the public and media, things changed drastically between them. Severus had even apologised for his rush to judgement of Harry. That had truly thrown him for a loop. Never in his wildest dreams had he ever expected to hear an apology from the mouth of one Severus Snape. And directed at him no less! If anyone had told him that six years ago he would have laughed in their face.

Severus had explained to him everything he could about the history of magic and the wizarding world in general. He had stressed the importance of this as the basis for Harry's training. Harry soon realised how true Severus was when he explained that the more he understood about his magic, the easier it would be to control and direct it.

One of the most important things Harry learned was about the ill conceived notion of light vs. dark his first year, it had been drilled into him that only light magic was good and anyone who used dark magic was evil. It didn't take much for him to believe this considering how Voldemort and his Death Eaters were killing and torturing everyone around him. With much explaining and patience on Severus' part he had shown Harry how it wasn't the magic that was evil and dark, but the people whose intent it was to use it to harm others. He had learned that magic in general is just that, magic. This was key in helping with his victory. After finally grasping the fact that how you decide to use the magic given to you is what matters, he could stop limiting himself to what most considered "light" magic. Harry knew he was only using all the resources available to him for the good of all wizard kind.

He never dared however, to get into the discussion with Ron and Hermione. He knew they wouldn't understand his point of view. Especially considering who he had gained that new perspective from. He didn't really know why he kept his relationship with Severus from them. He just felt that they wouldn't really accept it, particularly Ron. Harry just figured this was one secret better kept to himself.

Breaking out of his rambling thoughts, Harry realised someone was poking him in his side. He looked over to see Ron giving him a frustrated look.

"Will you wake up Harry! I thought I'd never get your attention. Come on, we have to get to Herbology or we'll be late."

"Sorry Ron, guess I just spaced out for a minute." Harry said sheepishly

"I'll say."Ron grumbled

The trio got up from the table and made their way quickly down to the greenhouses on the grounds. Entering the first one they say that Neville was already there waiting for class to begin.

"Hey there Neville." Harry sat down beside the boy. He really didn't feel up to dealing with Ron's questions or Hermione's pestering about his actions earlier in the Great Hall so early in the day.

"Hiya Harry."

"You don't mind being my partner today do you Neville?"

"O no…not at all. I just thought you'd want to work with Ron or Hermione, but I'm fine with being your partner."

"Yeah..err..thanks. I just didn't really feel like working with them today."

"O okay"

Harry was thankful that Neville was never one to question his friends' actions. It didn't hurt in the least that the boy was also fairly good at Herbology.

After class was dismissed, Harry didn't bother to hope for a quick escape, he knew it would be fruitless.

"Harry! Wait up"

Harry slowed down his steps so the two could catch up to him.

"Hey! What was that about earlier?"

"What are you talking about Ron?"

"What am I talking about?!? Umm let's see…how about you ditching us to work with Neville?" The red head seemed to be getting more irritated by the minute at Harry's seeming obliviousness.

"It was nothing Ron. Can't I work with someone else for a change? Besides, Neville's really good at Herbology." Harry tried to shrug it off.

Ron opened his mouth to retort but before he had a chance Hermione cut him off.

"What's wrong Harry? You seem more distant than normal. I saw how unusually quiet you were at breakfast this morning."

_Merlin can they ever just let things go?_ At their continued pestering, Harry was steadily growing more agitated.

"Why do you always seem to think something has to be wrong just because I'm not being Mr. Chatter Box? Can't I just be a little less talkative every once in a while?

Both Ron and Hermione stepped back at Harry's forceful tone. Ron looked as though he was going to just ignore it and drop the subject, but of course Harry's reaction only seemed to confirm Hermione's guess that something was wrong with Harry.

"Harry you know it's not good to bottle up your emotions like that. I think you need to talk to someone. Maybe Dumbledore? Is this about Halloween coming up?"

Harry flinched as though she had slapped him. He REALLY didn't feel like getting into this conversation again. Taking deep breaths to calm himself before he did something he regretted, Harry looked at his two friends with barely concealed anger.

"No. This is not about Halloween coming up. Now if you don't mind, I need to go. I'll see you guys later."

Before they had a chance to react to his quick dismissal he walked quickly up the path making his way back towards the castle.

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After leaving Ron and Hermione, Harry decided to skip the rest of his morning classes. The way his mood was at the present time, it would probably have led him to snapping at someone for the slightest infraction. He really wasn't feeling up to having to apologise to anyone else later.

He spent the time down by the lake trying to sort out his jumbled thoughts. One benefit of the hours of practice for occlumency, was that now he knew how to compartmentalise his thoughts. He could separate certain thoughts and store them away to different areas of his mind. It really helped with the over crowding. After a few hours, Harry realised he might have overreacted just a bit with his two friends. True, they were being pesky and overbearing as usual, but he understood that it was because of their overall concern for him. He just wished that they would take his word sometime and back off a little. He was an adult for Merlin's sake. He could take care of himself and make his own decisions.

The thing that really irked him however, was the fact that Hermione had brought up Halloween as a factor. The anniversary of his parents' death was an extremely touchy subject for him. At the time he was arguing with his friends, he honestly hadn't even thought about how close the date was. Maybe his subconscious was giving him a subtle reminder.

_And here my day started off so well_

The note from Severus had actually been the best thing to happen all day. Looking down at his wrist watch he'd received as a birthday gift from Lupin he noticed it was almost time for lunch. He really didn't want to go up and have to face the others at the moment, but his growling stomach told him that he'd do it anyway.

Entering the Great Hall he spotted Ron and Hermione in their usual spot with an empty space in between them. Making his way over to them he mentally decided to bite the bullet and just apologise. It would be the quickest way to get over the incedent this morning.

"Hey guys. Sorry about earlier."

"It's all right mate, we were just worried about you."

"It's fine Harry. We know how you get at this time of year. We won't push anymore." Harry gritted his teeth after Hermione's comments about "this time of year".

"No problem guys, let's just forget about it."

The rest of lunch was spent in a comfortable silence. Ten minutes before lunch was over Harry started packing up his things to make his way to Severus' personal quarters for their meeting.

"Where are you headed of to mate?"

Harry wasn't about to tell them where he was actually going

"I have a meeting to get too"

After a slight pause, the two must have realised he wasn't going to elaborate. Hermione cleared her throat and spoke up

"So, who exactly is this meeting with?"

"Just a friend I'd agreed to meet earlier"

This vague answer seemed to irritate Hermione even more, but Harry really couldn't be bothered with caring at the moment. He didn't want to be late to meet Severus, so with a slight wave he made his way out of the hall.

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Harry took about a minute outside Snape's door to calm himself before knocking. It wouldn't do good at all to go in there with the mood he was in. After taking a couple more deep breaths he finally knocked.

Almost instantly he heard the unmistakable drawl of Several

"Enter"

Harry opened the door and walked in to greet his mentor.

"Hello Severus. I was pleasantly surprised to receive your invitation this morning."

"Yes well I wasn't too sure you'd actually be joining me for a minute there. I thought the allure of my door would be too enticing for you to bother with actually coming inside" Snape smirked

Leave it up to Severus to have surveillance charms on his room. Harry's face burned from getting caught lingering outside the door.

"Well let's have a seat, shall we Harry"

"Okay"

After pouring each of them a cup of tea, Severus began the conversation

"So, how has the start of the year been for you Harry?"

"It's been okay so far. Apart from that horrid project you assigned us of course." Harry sent a mock glare Severus' way.

"Yes I'm sure. I only hope you and Draco aren't spending your meeting time at each others' throats. That wouldn't be too productive now would it?" Snape chuckled lightly.

"No we actually seem to be getting along rather well. A far cry from what could be expected of us a few years ago anyway. He's fairly good at potions which helps a lot."

"Yes of course. Could you expect anything less with me being the one to teach him everything he knows?"

"Well you've also taught ME everything I know, so what's your excuse there?" Harry quipped with a slight smirk

"Yes well, by the time I'm done with you, you'll be nearly as good as Draco." Snape sounded so confident that Harry didn't doubt his words.

"Now. Enough about classes and such, what's been going on with everything else? I heard something about you getting injured during quidditch tryouts?" Harry didn't fail to notice the look of corcern that crossed Severus' face.

"It was nothing major really. Draco actually caught me before anything serious could happen."

"Draco?!?! Merlin what is the world coming to? Well I guess I'm at least thankful that you didn't have to rely on the Weasley to save you." Snape sneered at the very thought

Harry just shook his head. He wouldn't dare hold his breath for an amicable relationship between Ron and Severus.

"So have you been in contact with the wolf lately?"

Harry was thrown a little at the abrupt change of subject.

"Erm…no. Not since the first week anyway. Why?"

"No particular reason really. I just wanted to see what the effects of the latest batch of Wolfsbane were."

Harry quirked an eyebrow. Severus had been inquiring about Remus more often lately. His usual excuse of the potion he prepared for Lupin was steadily becoming more unbelievable. Harry mentally filed it away to go over more later.

"Right. Well how about you just send him an owl?"

"I will do no such thing! I have no desire to talk to the wolf directly." Snape sneered at the very thought, but Harry could see a light tensing of his shoulders that made him suspect there was something more to Severus' words.

"Okay fine. If you want I can send him a letter."

"Good. But don't you dare mention that I am the one actually asking about his health"

"Err…okay" This was really starting to confuse Harry, and only helped to bring about more questions in his mind.

_What in Merlin's name is going on with Remus and Severus?_

He vowed to be more observant when he got them around each other again.

Harry spent another half an hour with Severus, discussing various things. After promising to visit again in the near future he made his way back to Gryffindor Tower.

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"Harry mate, why can't you at least come down to the feast? You don't have to attend the dance afterwards if you don't want too." Ron was beginning to remind him of a five year old whining about a broken toy.

"I'm just not in the mood to be around a lot of people tonight Ron"

"Harry I think it would probably be better for you to be around your friends tonight. Don't you think it's about time you started working towards getting over this?" Hermione's tone made him believe that she truly thought she had the best solution to his problem.

Her words only managed to increase his growing anger.

"Look. I said that I just wanted to be left alone okay. Can't you understand that? And no Hermione I don't think it's about time I _get over this, _excuse me if my parent's murders are just a little too big to **get over"**

"That's not what I meant Harry! I'm just saying that it's about time you let us help you with dealing with it."

Harry sighed. He really didn't feel up to having a row with these two tonight.

"I know that's not what you meant 'Mione, I'm just a little on edge right now okay. Just leave me alone for a bit. I know you guys want to help but this is just something I'd rather handle alone okay?"

Hermione looked like she wanted to continue the discussion, but a look from Ron silenced any further comments she planned on making.

"Harry!"

Harry turned to see Ginny coming down from the girls' dormitory. She was dressed in a pale pink slinky halter dress. Her hair was done up in a sophisticated bun on top of her head with curls on either side of her face. As she made her way over to him, she frowned slightly after taking in his attire.

"Harry, why are you not dressed yet? Don't you know the feast starts in twenty minutes?"

"I'm not going to the feast Ginny." Harry sighed thinking of the unavoidable argument ahead.

"What do you mean you're not going to the feast? You have to go!"

"I do not HAVE to go Ginny. Furthermore I won't be attending the dance either. I'm sorry."

At the mention of him not taking her to the Halloween dance, Ginny's face became three shades redder.

"WHAT? You have to take me! You're my boyfriend for crying out loud!!! This is unacceptable Harry. You will take me. I demand it!" Ginny crossed her arms and gave Harry a glare that could rival Severus'.

"No Ginny. I'm not going, and that's final. I'm sorry to disappoint you. Maybe you could find someone else to take you as a friend. Maybe Neville?"

Bad move

If possible, Ginny's face became even more red

"You think you can just hand me off to someone else?!?! How DARE you!!! If you don't take me to that dance then we are through. Do you hear me Harry Potter?" Ginny gave him a slight smirk that showed she thought she had just gained the upper hand in this conversation. She didn't think he would possibly turn her down now with the threat that she would possibly break up with him.

"If you can't understand that I don't want to go tonight of all nights, then maybe you don't know me too well Ginny. I'm not going tonight. No matter what you threaten me with. If you want to break up with me because of that then fine."

The look of utmost shock crossed Ginny's face. She couldn't believe it. She didn't really think Harry would actually still turn her down after that threat. What could she do now? She absolutely couldn't go to that dance without Harry Potter on her arm. This is what she had waited for, to be able to show off her famous boyfriend and be the envy of everyone at Hogwarts. She quickly switched tactics.

"Please Harry. Can't you just go for a little while? Maybe an hour. That wouldn't be so bad would it?" She begged hoping that he would change his mind and take her.

"I'm sorry Ginny. I just can't okay." Harry didn't want to continue going in circles with her. He needed to get out of here. It was becoming way too stifling.

"I have to go. I'll talk to you later." He turned to make a quick escape.

"Where do you think you're going Harry! Come back here this instant!!!" Ginny screeched.

Harry just kept walking. He really didn't have a destination in mind, but anywhere was better than going back to the crowded common room.

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He had been sitting here for hours. The moonlight reflected off the lake casting shadows all around him. This was his spot. His own personal place where he could just get away from everyone for a while and just think. He never shared this place with anyone. It was for him alone.

He guessed the dance was in full effect by now. The feast had ended about two hours ago. Everyone would be laughing and dancing by now, having a great time. Everyone was happy and merry, everyone except him. Here he was, all alone with his depressing thoughts.

"Well, I never took you for the emo type" a voice drawled from the shadows.

Harry quckly drew his wand and pointed it in the direction the voice had come from. From the shadows a figure stepped out into the moonlight.

"What the hell Malfoy! Are you trying to give me a heartattack?" Harry shouted, breaking the peaceful silence

Draco chuckled lightly

"No not at all. Just wondering why you're out here all alone looking so depressed and gloomy."

"It's really none of your business" Harry snapped.

"True" Draco shrugged

After a few moments of silence Harry expected Malfoy to turn and head back to the castle. No such luck. The blond haired Slytherin took it upon himself to plop down right beside Harry.

"Any particular reason you're inviting yourself to join me?" Harry asked

"Well since you seem to be lacking those manner things, I figured I'd take it upon myself to have a seat."

"Why are you here Malfoy? I thought you would have been up at the castle with everyone else having the time of your life"

"Sorry to disappoint, but that's not really my thing. I decided to come out here for a bit of solitude. I didn't really expect to find you out here being all emoish though." He gave Harry a small smirk

"I am NOT emo!"

"Could've fooled me. I distinctly felt the waves of self-pitying and depression rolling off you twenty feet away."

"Shut it Malfoy"

Draco shrugged again. Not fased in the least by Harry's attitude.

"So I guess you're going to take it upon yourself and try to figure out what's wrong with me and tell me everythings going to be okay, hmm?" Harry asked

"Nope. Wasn't planning on it."

Harry looked at the boy beside him sceptively

"You weren't?"

"Why in Salazar's name would I do that? I'm not wearing any rose colored glasses to think that everythings going to be all right in the world. Why would I tell you that it is? And I really don't care to know what's bothering you. Sorry if you expected me to delve into your life."

Harry was reeling. He had never had anyone who didn't care to bother him about his problems. It was refreshing

"Oh okay then."

The two boys sat there for a while in silence. It wasn't uncomfortable. Harry found that he truly appreciated having Malfoy there for some strange reason. It didn't seem to be as bad as it usually was on this night. True to his word Draco never once asked Harry about why he was there all alone or what was bothering him. Harry silently thanked him for that. He got enough of those questions from his friends.

After a while the two talked about inconsiquential things. Classes, quidditch, how awful Madam Puddifoots decorations were. Neither boy wanted to discuss anything too serious. There were here to escape those discussions so there was no need to bring them up. The hours passed by rapidly with the two sharing thoughts and laughter. No one would have believed it unless they witnessed it for themselves.

Glancing at his watch Harry realised that the dance had ended hours ago and everyone would now be back in their dormitories.

"Merlin! We've gotta get back it's after curfew!"

"What? I didn't know it was that late. How long have we been out here?" Draco scrambled to his feet

"No idea, but we have to sneak back in. If Filch catches us we're dead meat"

The two boys quickly made their way up to the castle and quietly entered the main doors. Luckily Harry had brought his Marauder's Map with him.

"I solmnely swear I am up to no good" He whispered quietly and tapped the map with his wand.

Draco looked over his shoulder at the map

"Well no wonder you never get caught sneaking around after hours" He quirked an eyebrow at Harry

"Yea well now you know my secret" Harry smirked back at him

Scanning quickly over the map he saw the hallway ahead was clear and beckoned Draco to follow him.

They made it easily to the Defense corridor without incident but as they were turning the corner they heard a distinct "meow" behind them. Cursing they sprinted quickly to the empty broom closet ahead.

Scrambling inside they quickly shut the door behind them. Both boys were trying to catch their breath after the quick sprint to safety.

"Merlin that was a close call" Draco got out between breaths

"I'll say. That damn cat…" Harry turned only to realise how small the closet was. There was barely any room to move, and very little space between him and Draco. Suddenly the closet seemed more stifling than it had previously

Through the darkness he could see the stormy grey pools that were Draco's eyes. The color in his cheeks was still evidence of the short sprint they had just taken. Unconsciously, Harry's eyes drifted down to the full parted lips and the pink tongue that darted out to wet them. Harry soon found his breathing had become much more shallow. He darted a quick look up to those silver orbes again, only to find that they had darkened considerably with some unknown emotion.

Harry didn't know if his mind was functioning correctly, but it seemed the distance between them was slowly getting smaller and smaller.

There was less than two inches between them now, and Harry couldn't stop the traitorous hand reaching up to run through those soft silky strands of blond hair. He could feel Draco's breath across his face now. The small bursts of warmth were making his hair stand on end and small shivers of desire course through his body. All he could think about was how good Draco had looked in the throws of ecstacy. He wanted to make him moan like that. To take him over the edge…..

_Woah!!! What the fuck am I thinking?!?!?!_

Harry jumped back as if bitten. Taking great lung fulls of oxygen he forced himself to get a grip.

_Merlin what is happening to me? What is Malfoy doing to me? I don't want him like that. Do I? NO! Of course not. It's just this stuffy room. I'm not getting enough oxygen to my brain. I've gotta get out of here before I do something crazy._

Harry jerked the door open and sprinted out. Filch or no Filch he wasn't staying in that closet with Malfoy any longer.

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**DRACO'S POV**

_Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck….Salazar I'm completely losing my mind. What the bloody hell was I thinking?!?! About to kiss Potter? Potter for Merlins sake!!! I'm going loco._

After Potter had sprinted out of the closet like the demons of hell were on his back, Draco made his way back to the dungeons as quickly as possible. That was nearly an hour ago and here he was still looking up at the canopy of his bed thinking about what had _nearly _happened between him and Potter.

_Well at least I'm not the only one going crazy, Potter didn't seem to want to back off either. What is going on here? It's like everytime I turn around me and PotHead are thrown together. I can't get rid of the specticled git. It doesn't help that I seem to lose all rational thought every time he's around either. I have to get over this madness. It's extremely unbecoming of a Malfoy._

Draco vowed to himself that he would get over this crazy new facination he had with Potter. He wouldn't let it go any further. He would banish these vile thoughts going through his head about how beautiful those emerald green eyes looked, and how good it felt to have those fingers running through his hair, and how much he wanted to suck on that bit of tanned skin between his neck and shoulder….

_NOOOO!!!! Stop thinking that right now! Oh man, what am I going to do. I have ot stop thinking like this. There's only one solution…I have to shag Potter. As crazy as it is, that's the only way to overcome these urges. If I shag the git then it'll leave my system, right? Right. _

Satisfied with his solution, Draco began plotting just how to succeed in getting Potter in his bed.

A/N:Okay! I'm going to stop it right there. LOL. Sorry I was going to write more to this chapter but I figured this was a a good stopping point. R & R please! It definitely motivates me to write more. Also I'm starting a new fic. It's going to be a Twilight Jake/Edward fic for those of you interested. Im not sure yet whether or not it'll be a chaptered fic or a really long one shot. I'll keep you updated


	9. A Malfoy always gets what they want

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it's taken me a couple more days to update than I thought it would. Truthfully I had

written this chapter earlier, but as I reread it I didn't particularly like the way it was going so I scraped it and started over. I had so many different ideas going through my head and I finally came to the conclusion that sometimes it's best to not try to stuff so many different ideas into one story, so I'm saving some of them for my next story.

A/N #2: This fic is AU-alternate universe. In my world book six DID NOT HAPPEN! Many characters from the final battle did not die. Since this is my fic I can make that happen. LOL. I'm sure since most of us are reading an HP fanfic we have read the books so 99.9 percent of us know who died and who didn't. Please don't give me reviews telling me that so-and-so is dead and whatnot. I KNOW THIS! Thank you.

Disclaimer: As much as I would like it to be true, none of these characters belong to me. Only the plot

**Chapter 9: A Malfoy always gets what he wants**

Several hours into the night Draco set plotting. He came up with numerous plans, and discarded just as many. Operation: Shag-Potter wasn't going nearly as smoothly in the planning stages as he'd previously thought.

There were many who considered Draco to be the sex-god of Slytherin. And for good reason. There were very few that could resist him when he truly turned on the Malfoy charm. When Draco set his eyes on a target there was nothing that could deter him until he had achieved his goal.

And he had ALWAYS achieved his goal.

Even though his record was unblemished, he didn't fail to recognize that the Gryffindor Golden Boy was in a whole different league than his past conquests. His usual methods would not work on the Saviour of the Wizarding World.

Potter would definitely be a challenge. There was nothing more that Draco loved than a challenge. But a Malfoy always gets what a Malfoy wants.

What Draco wanted most right now was Harry Potter. He vowed that he would get him.

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HARRY'S POV

Harry set brooding in the Gryffindor common room. He kept replaying the previous night in the broom closet in his mind. He couldn't imagine what came over him. He had never felt anything remotely close to the pull he had felt towards Malfoy. It truly frightened him. What was even more frightening was the thought that it could possibly happen again.

You want it to happen again. Except next time you want to give in to the pull

That little voice in the back of his head was becoming increasingly annoying. There was no way he was possibly attracted to Malfoy. He couldn't be. He was the enemy.

_Oh. But he hasn't been nearly as bad lately. He doesn't even pick fights with you anymore._

Well that was true, Harry conceded. Still, it didn't excuse his previous actions.

True. But his actions during the war helped somewhat didn't it?

Why was that voice torturing him so? Couldn't it just shut up for a little while? He'd have to research a way to make your subconscious be quiet.

"Harry"

Harry jumped at the sudden interruption to his inner debate

"Yea 'Mione?"

"Well you've been sitting there just staring into the fire for the past ten minutes. What's wrong with you?" Hermione stood there frowning with her hands planted on her hips, as though waiting for a spat.

"Nothing 'Mione. Just thinking." Harry replied

"About?"

"The meaning of Life" Harry retorted sarcastically

This didn't seem to go over to well with Hermione because her frown just became deeper.

"Very funny Harry. How about you just tell me what you truly were thinking about for you to be off in your own little world for such a long period of time."

"Hermione I really don't feel like talking about it right now okay? It's nothing serious anyway. Can't I keep my thoughts to myself once in awhile? Is that too much to ask?" Harry was starting to become irritated with her questioning.

"Yes actually it is too much to ask. You know how you get when you keep things bottled up. Now I demand that you tell me right now!" Hermione's voice was becoming increasingly louder with each word

Harry scowled

"No actually I don't have to tell you everything. Now if you don't mind I'm going to go up to the dorm and get some sleep"

"Harry don't you dare just walk away from me. I'll go to Dumbledore if you don't let me know what's been bothering you lately." Hermione threatened

Harry whipped back around so fast it was a surprise he didnj't get whiplash

"How dare you threaten me like that? If I don't want to tell you or Ron something I damn well don't have to! Why can't you just mind your business for once?!?!" He truly didn't like talking to Hermione like this, but sometimes she just really pressed his buttons. How dare she threaten to go to Dumbledore because he wouldn't tell her what she wanted to hear. It's not like it was any of her business to begin with.

Sometimes he felt like she and Ron believed that Harry was supposed to let them know every single one of his secrets. He couldn't get any privacy. After the war he thought they might back off at least a little. How wrong he was.

"Look Harry. I'm only doing this for your own good." Hermione gave him a look as though she thought he was being a petulant child.

Harry figured the best course of action was to just leave and go up to his dorm before he said something that he might regret later. He stood up to make his way to the stairs leading to the boy's dormitory.

"Harry!"

"Sod off Hermione!"

Climbing into his four-poster he knew that he had just delayed the inevitable. Tomorrow would just mean a newly rejuvenated, and more determined Hermione. And just his luck she would add Ron into the mix. Groaning Harry turned over to get some sleep. He'd need to be well rested to face the interrogative squad the next day.

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DRACO'S POV

Draco looked across the Great Hall to the Gryffindor table. He had a perfect view of the Golden Trio as they were directly across from him. He could see that there was a heated argument going on if the red face of The Weasel and wild gestures of the Mudblood were anything to go by. Looking over at Potter he saw the dark look on his face as he listened to whatever Granger was saying to him.

"Looks like not everything is as wonderful as it seems in the land of the Gryffindors hmm?"

Draco looked to his right at Blaise's comment, noticing that the boy had followed his gaze to the Gryffindors.

"Guess not" Draco replied his gaze going back over to the three friends.

"You seem more interested than usual. What's up?"

Leave it to Blaise to recognize Draco's actions for what they were.

"I don't know what you're talking about Zabini."

"Hmm, rather defensive are we Draco? Now I know somethings up" Blaise smirked at him

_Why must my best friend be so damn observant? Most of the time that's a good thing, but not when it's directed towards ME!_

Draco decided that the best course of action would be honesty. To a certain degree anyway

"I think I may have just found a new target Blaise. My most challenging yet to be honest"

"Is that right? Who? Surely not the muggle born?" Blaise looked disgusted at the thought

"Are you out of your bloody mind Zabini?!? Like I would stoop so low. Give me more credit than that please."

"Alright alright. Just making sure you hadn't bumped your head or anything. So that only leaves Weasley and Potter. I know you wouldn't dare try to bed Weasley considering how much you two loathe each other. So that only leaves Potter."

Draco's silence must have confirmed Blaise's guess because the boy's eyes widened comically

"Potter?!?! Draco you can't be serious!"

"For Merlin's sake keep your voice down Blaise! I don't want all of Hogwarts knowing about it." Draco sneered at the dark haired boy

"Come on Draco. You really think for one second that the Golden Boy is going to give you the time of day? I mean I know you have charm, but there isn't enough charm in the world to allow you to shag Potter. You two hate each other as much as you and Weasley!"

"Why do you think I said this would be my most challenging conquest?" Draco asked

"This isn't just challenging Draco, it's IMPOSSIBLE!" Blaise couldn't believe Draco actually thought he could get Potter of all people. I mean he'd impressed Blaise with many of his targets over the years, but Potter? There was no way

"Nothing's impossible to a Malfoy Blaise. Surely you know that."

Blaise gave him a look that stated clearly that he still didn't believe Draco could pull it off.

"Your doubt in my abilities really disappoints me Blaise. Would you care to make a wager on my success?" Draco smirked at him.

"Of course. How could I pass up such a tempting offer that I'm sure to win?" Blaise chuckled. "So what are you offering?"

"5000 Galleons should do it I think."

"I guess we have a deal then. Of course there will need to be certain terms of the deal though."

Draco looked over at the boy

"Such as?"

"It's only fair that you have a certain time frame to accomplish the goal. Christmas should be fair I'd think." Blaise looked over at Draco as though thinking the boy wouldn't dare consider accepting under such a small amount of time.

"Done. I'll have Potter so in love with me by Christmas that there will be no doubt of my success." Draco's smile was so confident that even Blaise believed him.

Draco looked back over at the Gryffindor table just in time to see Potter storming off from the two angry looking remaining members of the trio.

"Sorry to cut the chat short Blaise, but I have business to attend too." With that, Draco strode out of the Hall, looking every bit of the pureblood aristocrat that he was.

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HARRY'S POV

Harry couldn't believe the nerve of his two best friends. Cornering him like that, and then having the gall to treat him as though he was being unreasonable! He just couldn't understand how they didn't realise that he could handle his own problems.

Admittedly they had a right to be concerned when Voldemort had still been around, but now was completely different. They needed to understand that he was an adult now and trust him to make his own decisions. He didn't need anyone treating him like a child. Not his best friends, and certainly not Albus Dumbledore.

Harry just needed to get away. He slowly made his way down to his spot by the lake so he could sit and think for a while without anyone bothering him.

Making himself comfortable, he drifted off into thoughts of the recent conversation he had with his friends

FLASHBACK

"_Harry…" Hermione started off cautiously, as though she felt at any moment something could set Harry off._

"_We just feel as though you haven't been the same lately"_

"_Yeah mate…we're just trying to make you understand that you can come to us if somethings bothering you" Ron added in_

_Harry had been expecting this really. It still didn't make it any better even though he knew it was coming. He tried thinking up some lame excuse to get them off of his back as soon as possible, but his mind was currently coming up blank._

"_I told you guys that there was nothing bothering me. Can't you just believe me for once?"_

_Hermione and Ron shared a glance that Harry knew was disbelieving Hermione took a deep breath as though preparing for battle._

"_Harry we've known you for years. We know when you're hiding something from us. We think it's more than just the anniversary of Halloween too. The way you treated Ginny was deplorable._

_Harry was reeling. He couldn't believe they would put the blame on him for that!_

"_What the hell do you mean the way I treated Ginny? You two saw how unreasonable she was being!"_

"_Look mate, you could have handled it better. I mean how did you expect her to react with you ditching her like that? She's your girlfriend for Merlin's sake! You should've expected her to think you would take her to the dance." Ron's voice was becoming more angry_

"_You knew why I didn't want to go to that dance! I even explained that to Ginny. How is it right that she's my girlfriend, but she can't even understand my reasoning for not wanting to go?"_

"_Harry we feel as though it's time you started to talk to someone about your parents' deaths. You can't keep living in the past. It's time for you to start getting over it. Since Voldemort is gone you really don't have such a visible reminder anymore." Hermione stated firmly_

_Harry couldn't believe how tactless they were. Couldn't they understand how hard it was to lose someone so close to you? Obviously not. They hadn't really lost anyone that close to them. They couldn't possibly grasp the fact. They just expected him to get over it because so much time had passed. What did they know?_

"_Excuse me Hermione that I'm not meeting your time frame for getting over their deaths."_

_Hermione winced as though he had slapped her_

"_That's not what I meant Harry. I just feel it would be better if you began the grieving process. You really couldn't do it properly with Voldemort hanging over your head the whole time."_

"_Well I'm sorry that you feel that way. I'll do it my own way. If that doesn't meet your approval then too bad." He got up from the table to make his way out of the hall. He truly felt that if he stayed any longer the temptation to hex his two friends would be too great._

"_Wait a minute Harry!" He ignored Ron's calls to come back and made his way out of the castle_

End Flashback

Harry sighed. There really was no one that understood him.

"Fancy meeting you here Potter"

Harry looked up startled at the familiar drawl coming from beside him

I should've known"How is it that you always manage to catch me at the worst of times Malfoy"

Draco sat down beside him. Uninvited of course

"I guess you could say I have impecable timing." Draco gave him a small smirk. "So what happened today that would lead you to brooding so early in the morning?"

"Do you really care?"

"You'd know I was lying if I said I did, so I won't bother. I was just asking out of sheer curiosity"

Gotta admire his honesty

"Just a little disagreement I had with Ron and Hermione is all. They don't seem to grasp the fact that I'm an adult and can make my own decisions."

Draco snorted

"Well that's not shocking. They always seem to act like your handlers every time I see them. How you could stand it for this long I don't know"

"Gosh is it that obvious? I never realised. I can make my own choices you know" Harry huffed

"Hey I know that! You didn't defeat the Dark Lord by not having the ability to make your own choices. Merlin only knows how much courage that took"

Harry looked at Draco with surprise. He'd never expected such a vehement statement from the usually stoic Slytherin. It made him feel extremely good to receive such a compliment from the normally cool boy.

"Thanks Malfoy. At least someone realises that."

The two boys sat in silence for a while drifting off into their own thoughts. After a while Harry stood up thinking that he'd might as well go back to Gryffindor tower and face the music.

"I'd better go. Surprisingly it was nice talking to you Malfoy" Harry gave him a slight smile.

Draco smirked lightly

"Yeah you to Potter."

As Harry was starting to make his way back to the castle, Draco called out to him.

"Listen Potter. If they're really your friends then they should have enough confidence in you to trust your decisions. Don't let them bully you into second guessing your own choices."

"Thanks Malfoy. I really think I needed to hear that."

"No problem." Draco hesitated briefly. "And…just in case….I'm always here…in case you need someone else to talk to. At least to keep you level headed anyway." Draco gave him a slight smile.

Harry grinned back

"I'll definitely keep that in mind Malfoy" With that he made his way back to the castle, thinking all the way about how his dreadful morning had brightened slightly.

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DRACO'S POV

Draco smiled to himself.

Phase one of Operation: Shag-Potter

Status: Complete

A/N: Well here you go! Sorry it's not as long as my others but I wanted to get something out to you. Give me some feedback. Good or bad it doesn't matter. Hopefully a new chapter will be out soon.


	10. Partying with the Snakes

A/N: Hey! I've been working on this chapter for a few days because it wasn't coming to me as easy as the previous chapters. Thanks to the few who reviewed last chapter, it really meant a lot. I'm not one of those authors who is going to hold chapters hostage until I get a certain amount of reviews, but it would be really great if those readers who have this story on alert/favs could take a little time to review. It really helps me when writing the next chapters if you guys could let me know what you like about the chapter or what you don't like for that matter. Sorry for rambling but I just wanted you all to know that I do appreciate and take into consideration your thoughts. Thanks

Chapter 10: Partying with the Snakes

The biting winds and chilling temperatures marked the end of fall and start of winter. With the changing seasons came the start of Harry's favorite time at Hogwarts: Quidditch season. The first match of the year was Gryffindor vs. Slytherin. All around the school the excitement was evident in every student from all four houses. Everyone knew to expect a thrilling match because of the nature of the rivalry between the two houses.

Harry made his way down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Like every morning of any match, the Gryffindor team sat together. They would go over last minute strategies and game plans, while also making sure to eat a hearty breakfast because they knew they would need the energy for the match.

Harry tried to block out most of the conversations around him so he could focus on the upcoming match. He couldn't help but catch some of the conversation between Ron and Seamus who were seated across from him.

"….I say we try to take them out as soon as possible. You know if we don't they'll just try to get us first" Ron was saying.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea Ron…" Seamus looked somewhat distressed about whatever Ron had been trying to convince him of.

"It's a good idea. Just think about it Seamus, you know how the slimy gits always play dirty. We need to play just as dirty. We'll take a page out of their book and see how they like it!" Ron's face was getting redder by the minute.

Having caught only the end of their conversation, Harry cut in to find out what was going on.

"Hey what are you guys talking about?"

Seamus looked over at Harry with a pleading look

"Ron thinks it would be a good idea if our beaters try to knock out Crabbe and Goyle as soon as possible."

Harry frowned, not liking what Ron was suggesting at all.

"Are you crazy Ron? What could possibly make you think that's a good idea? Are you trying to get us disqualified?"

"Look Harry. You know how dirty the snakes play. I was just suggesting we hit them before they can hit us. You know it wouldn't even cross their minds to hold back if they had a chance to get rid of one of our players!" Ron seemed incredulous how the other two weren't agreeing with him wholeheartedly.

"Ron we have never played dirty and we're definitely not going to start now. Have you failed to remember that we've WON every time against the Slyterins, even when they use their dirtiest tactics. We don't need to stoop to their level to win."

Ron still looked disgruntled by Harry's refusing to even consider his idea.

"Fine. It was just something I thought we should think about."

"Well I've thought about it and the answer is still no. Now drop it. I don't want to hear anything like that again from anyone on this team."

Everyone seemed to take Harry's words to heart and the subject was dropped. After all the plates were cleared the team made their way down to the quidditch pitch.

Just before they made it to the locker rooms they were met by the Slytherin team, Draco Malfoy in the lead.

"Hey Potter can I talk to you for a minute?"

Before Harry even had a chance to respond, Ron took it upon himself to answer for him.

"Like we would let you anywhere near Harry before a match ferret face!"

"Last time I checked your name wasn't Potter, Weasel. The difference in the amount of galleons you have is enough not to make that mistake." Draco sneered at the red head.

Harry could see the shade of purple Ron's face was becoming, so he decided to intervene before the confrontation could get any worse.

"Sure Malfoy, but make it quick."

"What do you think you're doing Harry? You can't talk to him!" Ron screamed

"I can if I want to Ron. Just go in the locker room, I'll meet you there in a sec"

Ron huffed, heading off followed by the rest of the team. Draco waved his team off to their own locker room then turned to Harry.

"Potter, I just wanted to let you know that since I've become captain this year I've implemented some new policies with my team. You don't have to worry about any deliberate fouls or attacks on your team. We have no wish to play in the same underhanded manner as in previous years."

Harry was taken aback by Draco's statement. He hadn't expected anything like this from the Slytherin Ice Prince.

"Wow Malfoy. I really must say that I'm surprised. Pleasantly so. Thanks for letting me know though. I'm glad we can play an honest match for once."

"Me too Potter. I want to beat you fair and square for once." Draco smirked.

"In your dreams Malfoy" Harry countered, turning to make his way back to the Gryffindor lockers.

"We'll see won't we Potter" Draco called out to him just before he entered the locker room to join the rest of his teammates.

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"What the hell did the ferret want?" Ron asked as soon as he entered the room.

Harry sighed. He really didn't have time for Ron's questioning at the moment.

"He just wanted to let me know that they wanted to play a fair match today Ron. No dirty tricks liked they used too."

"Yeah right!" Ron scoffed. "As though they even know how to play a clean match. It goes against their very nature!"

"Well I guess we'll see soon enough won't we?" Harry made his way over to his locker to change into his quidditch robes.

"You're too easily taken in by their fake olive branch Harry. You need to realise that a snake will always be a snake."

Harry scowled at Ron

"So what you're saying is that I'm naïve or something? Just because I like to give everyone a chance Ron, Slytherin or not, does not mean I can't see a true show of peace Ron."

"Sure Harry, whatever you say." Ron still looked as though Harry was somehow delusional.

Harry decided not to waste anymore time discussing it. They had a match to get ready for.

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"Okay I want a clean game from both teams. On the count of three mount your brooms. One….two…..three!" Madam Hooch blew her whistle and the teams took off in a blur of maroon and green robes.

Harry scanned the pitch looking for any sign of gold. He knew the snitch wouldn't show itself so early, but he never failed to hope. He looked over at Draco who was on the other side of the pitch scanning his own area. Hearing a shrill whistle coming closer he looked over quickly and saw a bludger mere inches from him. He ducked quickly, barely avoiding getting his head taken off.

He decided to fly a little higher to get a better view of the entire pitch and stay away from the immediate danger area of stray bludgers.

Over the roar of the crowd, Harry could make out the voice of Luna Lovegood who had taken over Lee Jordan's position of announcer.

"And Ginny Weasley has the snitch….she's zooming through the Slytherin chasers….barely dodges a bludger there….must've been blinded by the knarckles, strange creatures who like to form a wall of fog in front of anything flying…."

"Luna! Just call the match please" McGonagall interrupted her dialogue

"Sorry professor. Gryffindor leading 60-20, Slytherin in possession of the quaffle."

Harry turned his attention away from the strange commentary and back onto the search for the elusive snitch. True to Draco's statement, Slytherin hadn't done anything yet that could be deemed "dirty". Now that their focus wasn't on how much pain they could inflict upon the Gryffindor team, their overall playing ability had improved tremendously. Harry had to give credit to Draco for working with his team.

After another twenty minutes the score was now 120-90. Harry knew he had to catch the snitch soon and end the game as quickly as possible. No sooner had the thought crossed his mind, he saw a glimmer of gold circling around the right goal hoop near the Slytherin side of the pitch.

Harry took off as fast as possible. A blur of green robes coming up beside him alerted him that Draco had also seen the snitch. Harry added another burst of speed trying to gain ahead of the blond haired Slytherin, but Draco was keeping pace with him. Neck and neck they sped to the winged ball. When the snitch was within arms length Harry reached out to grab it. Just when his fingers started to close around the ball, a pale hand shot out and grabbed it right from under his outstretched hand.

Harry looked over just in time to see Draco raise his hand in victory. The Slytherin section went wild. He could hear the other three cheering sections groaning in disappointment. For the first time in Harry's school history, they had lost to Slytherin.

Harry flew towards the ground to meet up with his teammates.

"I can't believe this! How could we lose to those slimy bastards!" Ron was screaming to anyone that would listen.

Harry knew it was his fault they had lost. He couldn't fault his teammates, they had done their part.

"I'm sorry guys. It's my fault."

"It's okay Harry. You can't catch the snitch all the time." Dean clapped him on his back

"Don't go blaming yourself Harry. We win together, we lose together." Seamus added in.

The rest of the team nodded their agreement. All except Ron and Ginny, Harry noticed. The two red heads walked off to the locker rooms in stony silence.

"Hey Potter!"

Harry turned to see Draco walking towards him. He groaned, not really in the mood to hear Malfoy's gloating that was sure to come.

"Good game Potter." Draco said cheerfully

Harry waited, sure the smug statement about Slytherin being superior was soon to come. After hearing nothing but silence on Malfoy's part he raised a brow.

"That's it? No comments about your superor seeker abilities?"

"Why would I do that after all the times you've beaten me? That is unless you'd like to hear me brag. Can't I just congradulate you on a good match?"

"Sorry Malfoy. I just didn't realise you knew how to be gracious in victory. You're right. It was a good match. You guys just played better than us today."

"Thanks Potter."

Draco stood there as though he had something else on his mind that he wanted to say.

"Hey Potter, since this is our first victory over Gryffindor, we're sure to have a splendid victory party tonight. Would you like to come?" Draco seemed extremely uncomfortable offering the invitation.

"You're asking ME to come to a Slytherin party?" Harry asked incredulous

"Yeah why not? That is if you're not scared of coming into the snake pit" Draco smirked.

Harry knew it was a challenge Draco was sending him. The only question was whether or not he would accept. He decided to call Draco on his bluff.

"Sure Malfoy. What time should I be there?" Harry sent a smirk back

Harry realised just seeing the gobsmacked look on Malfoy's face was satisfactory enough to risk going into the snake pit.

"You're serious? You'll really come?" Draco asked for clarification

"Yeah why not? It should be fun just seeing the looks on the Slytherin's faces when I show up"

"Alright then Potter. Be there at 8" Draco sauntered off

_This should be interesting._ Harry thought making his way to the showers

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DRACO'S POV

_I cannot believe Potter really accepted my invitation. I mean I was just offering because I knew he would never actually agree to come. Well this certainly presents a whole new possibility of options I can use to my advantage….._

Draco entered the Slytherin locker room and was greeted by the sounds of victory from his teammates. He was absolutely euphoric after beating the Gryffindors. And winning fairly at that. His father would be ecstatic.

"Draco! We did it man. This is awesome!" Blaise cheered making his way over to Draco's locker.

Draco gave his friend a smirk. "You doubted our abilities Blaise? I told you when I became captain that if we implemented my ways of winning we would be succesful. Do you believe me now?"

"Of course I do. We'll win the cup for sure this year. You know we have to celebrate tonight right?" Blaise was so excited, he was literally jumping up and down.

Draco laughed at his friend's exuberance

"Yeah I know, and we will. Just so you know we'll be having a surprise guest in attendance tonight"

"What do you mean a surprise guest? Draco you didn't get strippers did you? How are you going to sneak them in?" If it was imaginable, Blaise's excitement seemed to increase even more.

Draco shook his head at his friends' one track mind.

"No you dolt. I didn't get strippers. I've invited Potter to come to the party tonight, and surprisingly he agreed."

"No way!"

"Yes way! I told you to never doubt my abilities Blaise"

"I can't believe he really accepted an invite to a Slytherin party. He must have the bravery of a hundred Gryffindors." Blaise shook his head at Potter's antics.

"Let's get something straight Blaise. I don't want any of you giving him a hard time, understand? As my guest, he will be treated as such. Anyone hastling him will have me to answer to, got it?" Draco's look he sent Blaise's way left no room for argument.

"Alright Draco, I got you. I'll spread the word. One question though, what are you going to do about Pansy? I'm sure she's not going to take your warning to heart."

"Don't worry about Pansy. I'm not anyway. I think it's about time to let her loose anyway. She's starting to become increasingly clingy. You know how I hate that."

Blaise snickered.

"Okay then. I'm going to go set everything up for tonight. See ya later."

"Later Blaise"

After Blaise had walked away, Draco went back to his own thoughts about tonight.

_After tonight, I'll have Potter wanting me so badly, he'll be begging for me to take him._

Draco smirked to himself already formulating his plan of action.

A/N: Okay guys, next chapter THE PARTY! Please please please review!!!! Give me some ideas about what you'd like to see take place during the party. I'll definitely take them into consideration.


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